Arranged Marriage
by Lunatasha
Summary: Rukia is being pressured by the Kuchiki family to get married to an appropriate suitor so she can produce heirs. She reluctantly agreed. Ichigo however, is a little bit more argumentative.
1. Chapter 1

**I know I should be working on my other stories, but this just wouldn't leave me alone. I'm a little nervous about this, truth be told. I haven't written IchiRuki in years, I've never written anything quite so M rated and I've never written anything in the POV of a guy (mainly because being female, I relate to the women I write more). Hopefully it's ok.**

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I stared at the girl sitting on my bed with her knees tucked up to her chest. I know I always joke about her being small, but I can't get over how small she looks now. I can't help but wonder if that's one of the reasons she hates opening up and being vulnerable. I know she won't admit it, but she's clearly clueless on what to do now. It did happen pretty fast. Her family had gotten worried about the lack of heirs when they realised how little they had. Both Byakuya and herself had almost died in the battle just gone. They both die, they don't really have anyone to take over as head of the family. I get it, I do, I can see why they're being hasty but all of a sudden she's expected to get married and have children with a 'respectable', noble man that she hasn't even met yet. And it's pissing me off beyond belief. I don't really know the details, to be honest I have my suspicions that she wouldn't even be able to tell me the details without crying, but from what I've gathered she meets a carefully selected group of men and she chooses out of them.

The marriage itself doesn't bother me. Ok, well maybe a little. Ok a lot. But this isn't about me. It's about her. What the hell happened to her freedom? I didn't save her from that damn tower for her to get locked up again. I know this isn't the only reason this bothers me, but any feelings I have need to be shut down now, given the circumstances. She says she agreed but I doubt she had much of a choice. I doubt even Byakuya has a choice, otherwise surely he would've tried to do something about it. Unless of course the family is doing this to Rukia behind his back and waiting to tell him until it's too late. I clench my fists, trying not to put them through the wall. How could they do this to her? How could she take it? I look at her seemingly fragile form and notice her expression. She thinks she owes them. Which of course, she does not. Not to this extent. Sure they brought her out of poverty, but given the fact that she was in the academy at the time and it's, well, _Rukia_, she could've done that herself.

I realise that this is a very difficult situation to deal with, and somehow I don't think that fighting is going to work this time. This is the sort of thing that needs to be handled with care, something which I've never been very good at. Knowing how hard this would be to get out of, suddenly I want to cry. I know she never would. And I don't think she's looking for a way out either. It's not like her to run away. She's trying to find a way to cope. I sigh before walking over to the bed and sitting next to her. She's been silent for a while now, waiting for me to comprehend the situation after explaining it.

"It might not be so bad."

She looks up at me, a questioning look in her eyes. I feel awkward, I never was good at the whole talking thing, but at the minute, that's what she needs. "I mean I know it seems scary but, arranged marriages can work. And you do get to pick, although it is from a small selection."

She shrugged. "It doesn't matter that I get to pick. They're all the same really."

"What are they like?"

I could feel her frustration from her sigh alone. "None of them seem to do much. Most of them seem to spend time lounging around their houses, taking part in hobbies that sort of thing."

"That might not be such a bad thing. What if you share interests?"

"But I don't want to spend my time lying around. I want to stay working as a shinigami, I want to keep my position."

I was starting to understand why this is freaking her out so much. It didn't just mean having to get married and have kids, it meant a radical lifestyle change. Nobles were traditional, there was no question about that. So your wife going round killing hollows doing better, more impressive stuff than you? Probably not well received. For a start that would be quite a hit to these nobles' egos, and if one of them is actually a good match and cared for Rukia he wouldn't want her running around putting herself in danger all the time.

I know that she can take of herself, but the nobles won't believe that. She's small and female. I roll my eyes at the thought. Some people need to realise that traditional isn't always a good thing. They way she acts around me made it clear to me that she can take care of herself. But she can't act like that in front of her potential future husbands. Ever. She can't be herself. She can't be who she is, she can't keep the dreams, the goals she had. Damn, would she even be allowed to come and visit the human world again? Could this end up being out final meeting? It's not ok. It's not even the slightest bit fair. She's clearly not ok with it, and I'm certainly not.

"I'll do something."

She rolled her eyes at me. "There's nothing you can do."

"Bullshit." I said it harsher than I intended to, but I really don't care. Her head tilted up to look at me quickly, surprised at my sudden change of mood. "There's nothing _you_ can do. You're in a too awkward position. That doesn't stop _me_. It won't stop me. I can't let this happen Rukia. Maybe I could if you were happy but you're not."

She glared at me. "What are you gonna do? Barge into my family's house, demand that they change what's happening? That's not going to do anything. You'll just get thrown out. You can't fight your way through_ this_."

"Doesn't mean I can't try."

"What's the point? You know it will fail, so why even try?"

I stood up and started pacing, not being able to sit still any more. "Why even try? Because I have to Rukia! It's bad enough that I have to stand by and see you get married to someone else, but someone you don't even love? Someone that doesn't make you happy? I can't..."

Judging from the look on Rukia's face, I'm guessing I said too much. After thinking about what I said, the penny drops. I told her. I wanted to shut out these feelings and never tell her so this situation would be easier for her. That she would definitely have a friend right now that she could talk to. And now, instead of that, I told her that it was bad enough I was watching her marry someone else. I complicated everything, which is something she really did not need right now.

She stood up from the bed and walked over to me, stopping about a foot away from me. "What do you mean, it's bad enough that I have to stand by and see you get married to someone else?"

She knew what I meant and she was asking anyway. Why? I glared at her before I caught sight of her expression, suddenly I couldn't hold up that glare any more. "I mean, you shouldn't... you shouldn't marry someone else. You should stay with me. But it's impossible, I know that. So ignore that I ever said it."

Rukia shook her head. "You know as well as I do that I can't forget that." I could see her eyes gloss over with unshed tears and all I wanted to do was hug her, but I didn't want to make the situation any worse. She punched me hard in the chest, but I barely noticed, I felt numb all over. "That's not fair Ichigo! You can't tell me that! Not now! I'm supposed to be getting married soon! Why are you making things harder than they need to be?"

I felt empty inside. Making things harder? Did that mean she liked me back but couldn't act on it now? Or that the friend she thought she could rely on just made talking about her future marriage a hell of a load more awkward? "How am I making things harder?"

"Because! Because... I have to marry someone soon..."

_'Ah, it was the friend thing'_.

"And I know I don't want to marry people like them. I want..." I raised my eyebrow, coaxing her to go on. "I want... someone like you." I know full well that 'someone like you' is actually code for _you_. There wasn't anybody else like me, not in her world. But her inability to be open made it near impossible to actually say it.

"But it's not an option. It was easier to ignore what I wanted because I didn't think it would ever work anyway, but now you're telling me that I should be with you and I..."

I finish the sentence for her. "And you can't. Even though that's what you want." I knew the lack of a reaction from her meant I was right. Talk about a hollow victory. "I'm sorry Rukia. I knew I shouldn't have said it. I never meant to say it. I just-"

She nodded, effectively cutting me off. "I know. You never think before doing."

"Tch. Well you wanna know what I think? I think you think too much. Did you even object to this sudden arrangement or were you too busy thinking about the consequences?"

"I tried. It's a little difficult to object when every 15 seconds they complain at you about your manners." Given her family, I can see why it would be difficult to object.

"Ok well forgetting that, you still over-think. You should try being impulsive from time to time." The expression on her face tells me that she's pitying me. Well that reversed quickly.

"Like now?"

Ok so she knew what I was getting at. That's why she's pitying me. Because I can't let go. Because a small part of me hopes that if something happens tonight between us, the wedding will get called off. It's pathetic. I'm pathetic. I know I am. I know I'm making an ass of myself. But if this really could be the last time I see her, it's worth a shot right?

"Like now."

She shook her head at me. "Ichigo. You know that's not a good idea."

"I don't care Rukia. I do not care. I know it's a mistake. But sometimes you have to make mistakes. Because even though pretty much all the evidence points to the fact that it's a mistake there's still a tiny chance that it's not, so you make it anyway."

"That's stupid, you realise that?"

"Maybe. It probably is a mistake. But you're not saying no. So surely there's a chance that it's not." I could tell from the look in her eyes that she was never going to make the first move, but that she wasn't going to object if I did. She wanted to, she just knew it was bad idea. So she wasn't going to do anything. But it was better this way. Because if I make the first move and it turns out to be a mistake, then she can blame it on me. I'm fine with that.

I quickly closed the gap between us, wrapping my arms around her waist and leaning down to kiss her in one swift motion. I heard her make a small sound of surprise. She stood there stiffly for a moment before giving in, tiptoeing to wrap her arms around my neck, returning the kiss. I pull her closer to me by her waist, making her whimper slightly. I want to keep her forever, but I know I can't. So instead, I'll just make sure she'll never forget me. Realising that she's been on her tiptoes for a good minute now, I lift her up, wrapping her legs round my waist, my hands holding tightly on her thighs, keeping her there. I heard a noise of protest from her, but I know she isn't really complaining. If she was, I'd already be bruised by now. Rukia never had a problem with telling me she had a problem with me. Besides kissing her when she was supposed to getting married to someone else soon was bad enough, taking it further certainly wouldn't make it any better, but surely it couldn't make it any worse? She has yet to object at any rate.

After getting over the shock of being lifted and wrapped around me, Rukia started kissing me. I couldn't help but smile. If she had doubts later, she would voice them, but right now she didn't have any. Or more likely, she just didn't care any more. She was reciprocating. She broke away from the kiss, needing to breathe. I took it as an opportunity. I caught the spot between her neck and her shoulder with my mouth and sucked hard, causing her to gasp loudly before quickly covering her mouth with her hand. I smirked against her neck. "Rukia. No one's home. Dad's god knows where and the twins are on a school trip. You don't have to worry about being quiet."

"It...It's embarrassing."

A kind smile replaced the smirk on my face. I always forgot how self-conscious she could be. Generally speaking her self-confidence was fine, but occasionally there were gaps where her self-esteem was particularly low, such as her belief that she wasn't worth much (although she never had a problem convincing others that they were important). It looked like I had discovered another gap. It did seem like a strange thing to be embarrassed about though. Unless she was embarrassed about the whole situation there were currently in. I doubt she's ever done anything of this nature before, being a noble woman. They like everything traditional, such as having their unmarried women virgins. I wouldn't have an issue with that if it wasn't for the fact that there seemed to be no such pressure on unmarried men to stay virgins.

I stop as I realise something. Most noble marriages are arranged, usually for keeping ties with another family, or status, or wealth, or in the case of the very noble, such as Rukia, heirs. Did that mean that she doesn't think she should enjoy it? That sex is something done out of duty rather than pleasure? As I understood it, the only expectations on a noble married woman were to look nice at all times, have great manners at all times, and most importantly, to produce children. Women could have sex and get pregnant without actually enjoying it, so would that mean that she sees pleasure as a unnecessary extravagance? It wouldn't surprise me if she felt guilty for enjoying this too.

"Ichigo?"

Her quiet voice brings me back to reality. I had stopped and she had a worried look on her face. Worried about what exactly I don't know. I murmur out a quick sorry before continuing, making her dig her nails into the back of my neck. It was fine if she didn't know anything. It was fine if she was embarrassed. But it would suck, not getting any pleasure from sex throughout her entire life. So I'll show her how great it can be. I don't know about the future, what will happen with me, with her. So what I'll do is just focus on now. I start trailing my tongue from her collarbone down, making her breath hitch. I lift her higher on my body so I don't have to crane my neck down so much. It was cute that she was so small, but it did create certain logistical problems.

It didn't take too long for it to become apparent that her dress was getting in the way. I could pull it over her head easily, thank god. It did make her go very red though. She paused for a moment before pulling my arms away from her, keeping herself up with her thighs alone. I wasn't left confused for very long, after seeing the determination in her eyes. She started pulling my top up roughly, I lifted my arms up to help her. It joined her dress on the floor, creating a pile of clothes. She grabbed my neck and pulled me towards her, kissing me. Clearly she had had enough of being vulnerable and was now taking matters in her own hands. But I was having none of it. I wanted this to be about _her_ tonight, not me. I gripped her waist and lifted her from me before placing her not so carefully on the bed. I followed, straddling her, careful not to crush her under my weight.

I stared at her for a moment, making her blush and turn her head. I was too lost to care about consequences now. I reached forward and started kneading her breasts causing her to gasp loudly. After a few moments she reached up and slapped me lightly, jokingly almost, making me stop, before whispering.

"You're going to ruin my bra if you keep going like that."

I smirked and leaned down, mouth resting against her ear, whispering back. "Fine, have it your way." I reached behind her back to unclasp her bra before sliding my hands up to her shoulders, pulling the straps down her arms. She wasn't blushing any more. Well, not much anyway. But of course, I had just done what she told me to do. She thought she was in control.

I kissed down her body, from her shoulder to her breast before latching on to her nipple and sucking hard. She cried out, arching her back towards me, dragging her nails down my back. Truth be told I kinda liked the pain. I reached up to attend to the other breast, rolling around the sensitive peak in her hand. She bucked her hips up, meeting mine, making both of us groan. I moved my hand from her breast down her body, resting on her hip. Her hips bucked up again. She stayed silent, but she was wriggling against me now. Slowly, I brought my hand from her hip and dipped in between her legs, causing her to whimper.

I started stroking her gently through her underwear, the sounds coming from her almost unbelievable. To be completely honest, I had fantasized about doing this, but the sounds she made in my dreams just didn't compare to the real thing. She was wriggling again, and I took it as my cue to go faster. I rubbed her a little harder. She moaned louder, clinging to me. I pulled my hand away from her before placing both of my hands on her hips. She looked up at me with a frown on her face, lips pouted slightly. I couldn't stop myself from smiling. She was adorable. I hooked a finger on either side of her underwear and pulled down, tossing the article of clothing to the side. The red had returned to her face, and it looked like she was fighting the urge to cover herself.

I moved up and kissed her on the lips again. "You're so beautiful." She looked straight into my eyes with a look that actually made me feel weak. It was a mixture of vulnerability, gratitude, and her usual spark. Never breaking eye contact, I started kissing down her body in a straight line. I could feel her pulse speed up the lower I got, she figured out what I was going to do. I stopped as I reached her lower stomach, looking up at her. I wanted to check she was definitely ok with all of this. I doubted she would stop me now of all times, but still. She had a slightly insecure look on her face, but her eyes were daring me to go on. I started kissing down her again, while gently spreading her legs. She gasped loudly when I kissed her clit. I paused for a moment. I knew what to do and all, but it was a little weird as I had never done it before. Then again that was true for most of this night.

Looking up at her, I darted my tongue out briefly against the area I just kissed, getting another, louder gasp from Rukia. I judged the sound, and the expression on her face to be a good reaction and continued, stroking my tongue against her clit repeatedly. I would've tried to explore a bit, but the tight grasp on my head seemed pretty intent on keeping me right where I was. As time went on her moans got louder and the hold on my hair got tighter. Before long her hips started bucking up and her thighs clenched around my face. Rukia tried to loosen them up again afterwards but I just pulled her legs so that her calves were now resting on my back, her knees bending around my shoulders. If I did this right her thighs would only end up clamming tight again anyway. I continued, trying to keep a steady pace. Suddenly her muscles jolted and she cried out. Had she orgasmed? I could only assume so. I pulled back a bit and looked up at her, watching her as her breathing got back to normal. I looked back down and noted that she seemed a lot wetter that she was before. Adding that to the pleased albeit a bit embarrassed expression on her face, I figured that I had actually gotten her to cum.

After a few moments she opened her eyes and looked at me before sitting up at the edge of the bed. She pulled me up so I was standing in between her legs. She looked up at me, the blush from her climax still painted on her face before she turned her attention on my belt. Before I knew what was going on my belt was half way across the room and my trousers were around my ankles. I looked into her eyes and saw the determination in them. I wanted this to be about her but it was hard to stop her from doing something once she had decided and quite frankly, I wasn't about to complain. I stepped out of the trousers and kicked them to the side. She seemed a little nervous about taking off the last article of clothing though.

"Rukia if you don't want to you-"

"I do, it's just..."

I knelt down so I could see her face to face. "What?"

She took a deep breath before speaking. Admitting weakness wasn't particularly an easy thing for her."I don't really know what I'm doing."

"Rukia, neither do I."

Her face flushed again before she spoke quietly. "I beg to differ."

I couldn't stop myself from grinning. "Well ok, but I've never actually _done _anything before. Besides, guys are a lot easier to get off than women. You'll be fine." I continued to smile after seeing her roll her eyes at me.

"Only you could be so crude in about 10 words."

"Oh I dunno, I could've said something worse."

Rukia rolled her eyes again. "Don't."

"I won't, I won't. After all, you seem to get embarrassed easily in these situations."

"Why are you saying that like it's a weird thing!"

I shrugged. "From what I've heard most people my age just keep going and don't even notice themselves enough to get embarrassed. Teenagers aren't really as careful as they probably should be."

Rukia nodded slightly. "To be fair, humans generally seem more, well, _eager_ than shinigami."

"Tell me about it. If it wasn't for a certain few Vice-Captains I wouldn't have even realised that you guys have sex drives."

"Yeah. There's actually a reason for that."

"Oh?"

She nodded again. "Yeah. You know how how pregnancy for humans is pretty exhausting? It has a tendency to be worse for souls. You have to have a decent level of reiatsu to be able to withstand it. Because of that reason it's only those who have higher levels of reiatsu that experience sexual desire."

It was a little surprising, but it made sense. "How high do the levels need to be?"

"Oh not very. Any shinigami would probably be capable, as well as a few Rukongai residents here or there. It's not like you need to have a Captain's level of reiatsu to have children."

I nodded while sitting down on the bed next to her. "Ah I see. But surely the higher the levels the better of the mother and child will be?"

"Probably. I think so anyway."

"I imagine that makes you pretty desirable."

Rukia shrugged. "If you say so."

I couldn't decipher the look on her face, but I knew it probably wasn't good. "In terms of noble marriage anyway. I can think of several other things that makes you desirable." The expression on her face told me she didn't really believe me, but she blushed anyway, making me smile. "For example, you're beautiful, you're cute, you kick ass-"

"That's not a desirable trait for a noble woman you know."

I rolled my eyes at her. "Maybe not for some people, but hey it works for me."

She bit back a laugh. "I swear you're a masochist."

"Well, maybe a little." I winked at her, making her giggle. I leant forward to kiss her gently, which she responded to happily, wrapping her arms around my neck. I can't quite remember how she ended up in my lap but she did. I pulled away, but she didn't. She leaned forward to kiss me again, but my head wasn't quite as foggy as it was earlier. I pulled away. "Rukia?"

"Yeah?"

"Um, if the higher reiatsu you have correlates to how easily you have children, is this good idea? Given that I er, don't have any protection?"

Rukia looked up at him. "Oh," she blushed, "Probably not. Why didn't I even think of that?"

I kissed her neck lightly before speaking against her skin. "Maybe you're just as bad as us eager humans."

Rukia sent me a glare, but the effect was pretty diminished as she was furiously blushing at the same time. I couldn't help but tease her. "I wonder if sexual desire is directly correlated to reiatsu. I imagine that would make your libido pretty high."

"Well that theory would certain explain you."

I laughed. "Only you would manage to come back with something like that while you're naked and flustered."

Rukia nodded. "Damn straight."

I smiled at her, kissing her briefly again. She rested her head on my shoulder with her hands placed on my chest. She took a deep breath before speaking.

"Ichigo?"

"Yeah?"

"I don't want to marry someone else."

I nodded. "I know. If you did, you wouldn't still be here." She stayed silent. "Do you actually want to get married?"

She nodded. "I do, I mean I like the idea of getting married but it was always something I planned for later on in my life."

I wasn't surprised. She was a hell of a lot older than me, but she was still very young in terms of shinigami. "I see."

I held my breath before speaking again, my voice coming out quieter than I wanted it to be. "If you had to marry someone, but you could choose absolutely anyone, who would you choose?"

She looked up at me, a pointed look on her face. She didn't say anything, but she didn't have to. "Me?"

Rukia nodded, staring at her lap. "You."

"How long do these arranged marriages take to organise?"

"Well you get the initial match meetings which have a tendency to take weeks. Then you pick a suitor. Usually the first dates, as you would call them, are just meetings, similar to the initial one where you just get to know each other, in the presence of family members of each family. That tends to go on for a couple of months Then you start meeting without the family. Generally it's expected that a couple will spend at least a year together before getting engaged. The engagement tends to last two years or so, noble weddings tend to take a lot of planning and there are usually a lot of compromises made."

It gave me some hope. It would be 3 or four years _at least_ until she was married. It gave me some time to suck up to the Kuchiki family so that maybe I could be considered as one of her suitors. The truth is, I didn't know for sure if I was in love with her. But what I did know is that I cared for her a great deal, and the idea of her getting married to someone else made my blood boil. And if I wasn't quite in love with her now, and if she wasn't in love with me, a few years gave us time to fall in love. We've spent a lot of time together, but we've never actually dated. Maybe it wouldn't work, but I don't think I could ever forgive myself if I didn't try. And imagine if it did work. I had to try.

"Rukia?"

"Hmm?"

"I'm gonna do something about this."

Rukia stared at him. "What could you do? This isn't something you can just fight you're way through."

I nodded. "I know. But I'll find a way. I always do."

XxXxXxXxX

Rukia tried to itch her head as carefully as she could. She wasn't used to having hair ornaments in her hair, so they irritated her head, but she wouldn't hear the end of it if she ruined her hair. The first three match meetings had not gone well. All of them were so boring, to the point where Rukia genuinely struggled to pay attention. Her matchmaker entered the room Rukia was in. "Are you ready to meet your fourth potential match?"

Rukia bit back a sigh and nodded. The matchmaker starting to lead her to the room where her next 'match' waited, talking quickly entire time.

"Rukia, this particular match was not only approved by your brother, but actually put forward by him too, so you must make sure to leave a good impression." Rukia didn't listen to anything else her matchmaker said. Byakuya had actually put someone forward? He didn't seem at all approving of her getting married, but he had suggested someone? Who? All sorts of questions were running through her head. Her matchmaker opened the door and Rukia couldn't stop herself from gasping. "Ichigo?"

He smirked at her. "Hey."

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**I'm not sure whether to leave it there, or make it a multi-chapter to be honest. I think it works fairly well as a piece on it's own, but I kinda get an unfinished feel from it. What do you guys think? **

**I'm sorry if the pacing isn't so great or Rukia and Ichigo aren't quite in character, this proved more difficult than I expected. If there's anything you think I could improve on please do tell me, I've gotten out of practice writing these two and I've never written anything smuttish in my life, so suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it!**


	2. Chapter 2

**First things first, whoa you guys. I usually write HitsuKarin which has less of a following than IchiRuki, so I'm not used to such a response. Thank you so so much for all of the reviews, faves, and follows, I appreciate it so much. I agree that Ichigo and Rukia are out of character and I would've edited the first chapter already, but as I've decided to continue this in third person, I was wondering whether I should rewrite the first chapter so the entire fic is in third person?**

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Rukia's head was spinning. She couldn't even recall what had happened in the match meeting. But she had managed to get through it with relative ease and without paying too much attention, so it probably consisted of questions she already knew the answer to. All of the other match meetings were centred around finding out basic things about each other, like hobbies and whatnot. Seeing as her matchmaker clearly didn't know who Ichigo actually was, there was no reason that that meeting would be any different. She was glad for it actually. Rukia knew that Byakuya knew that she and Ichigo were close, but she rather he didn't know quite how close they were.

In her matchmaker's eyes, it was an initial match meeting with a Byakuya-approved suitor that had gone well. Rukia guessed that in Byakuya's eyes it was a probably needless meeting in terms of information, but necessary in terms with doing this whole potential suitor thing properly and traditionally. In Rukia's eyes however, it was completely pointless. She didn't need to hear what Ichigo spent his time doing, or his family history. She already knew it all. She was much more interested in why Byakuya had approved Ichigo of all people. She knew quite well that her brother had not approved of the boy in the past. Why the sudden change? And for that matter was Ichigo even serious? A small voice in the back of Rukia's head told her that Ichigo probably didn't even think about it before he jumped into the situation. She did expect him to do something, but not _that_. He became one of her potential suitors. How? Did he even realise what that entailed? Her mind was buzzing with questions.

"Hey."

Rukia jumped slightly. She had been too focused on her thoughts to even notice him approaching her bedroom. "Ichigo?"

It was more of a statement than a question. Ichigo assumed that Rukia was expecting him. "Is this seriously your bedroom? It's huge."

Rukia turned to face him properly as she nodded. "Yeah. It's a little too big if you ask me. For one person anyway."

"I'll say." Rukia arched an eyebrow at him. "You probably want me to explain me a few things, huh?"

Rukia rolled her eyes at him. "That would be preferable.."

Ichigo flopped down on her bed, trying to decide where to start. "Ok, well. After...that night, I knew I had to do something about this whole arranged marriage thing, but I figured I couldn't just fight my way through it, and this was the solution I came up with."

Rukia just stared at him. He really hadn't thought this through. "Ichigo, do you even understand this situation? You seriously became one of my potential suitors because it was the only thing you could come up with? How did you even manage that anyway?"

Ichigo could tell that Rukia was irritated, but he wasn't sure why. He just hoped that answering the questions wouldn't backfire on him. "I never said that becoming one of your potential suitors was the only thing I could come up with. It's just the one I went with. As for-"

"Why?"

Ichigo sighed. Neither of them were good at the whole talking about their emotions thing. Truth be told they talked a lot but never actually _said_ anything. Most of their real communication was done non-verbally. But he couldn't really avoid this. Especially as it seemed important to Rukia. "It...made the most sense. It was the least invasive for your family. It meant we could actually be together without hiding, assuming that's what you want anyway. At the very least you could use me for a couple years to give yourself some more time."

Rukia stared at him. Had he seriously just used the words 'at the very least you could use me'? Her eyes met his for a moment before he glanced away. That's when Rukia realised. He wasn't doing this just because she was desperate. He was doing this because he was desperate too. But it worried her. A lot. Ichigo was only nineteen. She didn't want to look down on him as if he was a child, but it was hard not to sometimes. He was _nineteen_. He could say that he was desperate to be with her, but just how much did he know and understand love? Did he even know if he loved her? She couldn't possibly let him get himself in this situation. She could not trap him here. Divorce was not an option for noble couples. Especially nobles of her family's calibre. It was all well and good, willingly doing this now, but what about in ten years time?

"No."

Ichigo looked at her. "Huh?"

Rukia avoided his gaze. "Ichigo, I can't let you do this."

Ichigo scoffed. He had seen this coming. "Give me one good reason."

"You can't possibly be sure that you want to spend the rest of your life with me. You'd have to give up so much. And shinigami lives last a lot longer than human lives."

Ichigo scowl deepened. "Rukia, _I know_. Did you think that I just jumped into this without thinking?"

"You usually do."

"I've grown up a lot since you first met me."

Rukia gave him a pointed look. "That was only four years ago."

"My point still stands. I've thought about this. You need to take a breath and stop taking this so seriously. We've got a couple of years before your family start to expect an engagement. We've got time. If we don't work as a couple chances are we'll know by then."

Rukia glared at him. How could she possibly stop taking this so seriously? She hit him hard on the shoulder. "How are you not being more serious about this! How can I stop taking this seriously? It is serious! Not only do I have to marry someone, I'm gambling with our relationship. If we don't work as a couple, then I've pretty much lost you, haven't I?" She sighed as she sat down at her vanity table. "It's a little hard to remain friends after that sort of thing."

Ichigo stared at her for a moment before getting up from the bed, walking towards to her. "Ok, firstly, I'm pretty sure we kinda burned the whole going back to friendship bridge a couple of weeks ago." He sat down on the vanity table itself and leaned towards her, gently taking out the accessories that were decorating her hair as he spoke. "And secondly, if you're so worried about losing me, what makes you think we won't work as a couple? I know this is serious, but taking it so seriously at this stage won't help anything. If anything it'll make things worse. We're trying to figure out whether we'll work, right? Then we need to act like we normally would with each other." Ichigo gave her a rare, gentle smile as he pulled out the last of her hairstyle and ran his fingers through her hair, attempting to get it to resemble her usual style. If Ichigo had to guess, the reason Rukia was doubting giving this a go was her own insecurities.

He bent down again and kissed her on the forehead. Rukia paused for a moment, before angling her head upwards and pulling him down to her, kissing him quickly on the lips. Ichigo knew that this was her way of accepting him as one of her potential suitors. It was a little hesitant, and more than a little nervous, but an agreement nonetheless. "Ichigo?"

"Hmm?"

"How in the hell did you get Nii-sama to approve you as a suitor?"

"Er, it's a long story. Why?"

"His reiatsu got a little...edgy when you initially came into the house. But it keeps getting worse, I'm not sure it's a good idea for you to be here much longer."

Ichigo grimaced. "Does your brother understand the meaning of the words 'over protective'?"

Rukia glared at him. "Like you're one to talk. Besides you can't really blame him."

"Why the hell not? We're only talking."

Rukia rolled her eyes. "You do realise that all he knows is what he can tell from our reiatsu, which is that his little sister and one of her potential suitors is in her bedroom."

Ichigo paused. "Ok, maybe I see your point. But still," he shrugged at her, "I can take him."

"Do not get in a fight with him."

"Yeah, that would hardly help my campaign to be your future husband huh?"

Rukia bopped him on the head. "Don't get ahead of yourself. You only just got me to agree to you being one of my _potential_ suitors, let alone anything else."

Ichigo smirked. "Yeah, but you like me more than anyone else."

"Where do you get that confidence from?"

"Pretty sure it's in my blood."

Rukia smiled slightly, thinking about the whole family. "Yeah, that wouldn't surprise me."

Ichigo looked in the direction of Byakuya's room. "Ok now even _I'm_ feeling it, maybe I should go."

"Probably. Where are you staying anyway?"

"Your Captain is letting me stay in the squad 13 barracks."

"How did you get him to...Oh god, he's in this as well isn't he?"

Ichigo scratched the back of his neck with as sheepish smile on his face. "Little bit, yeah."

"Wait so how many people know about this?"

"Well your family, obviously, my family too, your Captain, the two third seats of your squad that I have forgotten the name of-"

"Sentaro and Kiyone?"

"Yeah, those two, they kinda butted into the conversation I was having with Ukitake."

Rukia nodded "They do that."

"That's all I think. Why?"

"Just so I know what to expect when I go to work tomorrow, that's all."

"Ah. Anyway I should go."

Rukia nodded and watched as Ichigo more or less dove out of her bedroom window. She shook her head. This was going to be interesting to say the least.

XxXxXxX

"So are you gonna marry him?"

"Oh, um-"

"Idiot! It's too soon to ask something like that!"

The awkward smile on Rukia's face disappeared as she watched her third seats argue, _again_. As expected she got about 100 questions about her and Ichigo when she arrived at the office today. She was good friends with the two of them from way before she became a Vice-Captain, so she had never really wanted to use her authority to make them be quiet, but this morning it was very tempting. Especially when they asked questions that she hadn't even asked herself yet. Did she like him? Well obviously she liked him, but enough to think about getting married in a couple of years? In the grand scheme of things, a couple of years was actually a very short time. They had known each other for four years. Take out the 17 month gap and it was actually more like two and a half years. Add in the two to three years before the engagement and you got roughly 5 years. Could she really marry someone she's only known for 5 years? Rukia sighed as she pushed the thoughts to the back of her mind and got on with her work. Paperwork did not do itself, unfortunately.

Rukia stretched after completing a small stack of paperwork. Picking up the pile of paperwork that had to be stamped and signed by her Captain, she made her way over to Ukitake's desk and gently placed the pile on it. She went to leave but found her Captain in the doorway. "Captain! I didn't know you were in today."

The older man gave her a smile. "I've only just come in, bit of a slow start this morning."

"Are you sure you're well enough to be in today?" Rukia had been his Vice-Captain for a while now, and she knew that in the majority of cases where Ukitake had struggled to get up and out of bed in the morning, the rest of the day didn't go all too smoothly."

"I should be fine, but thank you."

Rukia nodded. "Still, let me make you some tea." Ukitake tried to protest but Rukia was having none of it. As he sat down after being handed his tea, he took note of the paperwork on his desk. It was more than some officers could sort out in a day, but Rukia was a very hard worker and could usually complete a lot more in the time she had been in the office. "Rukia, is everything alright?"

"Everything's fine. I'm just..." She trailed off as she caught sight of the expression on her Captain's face. "I guess I'm a little distracted today, that's all."

"This wouldn't have anything to do with Ichigo would it?"

The look on Rukia's face told him that it was. Ukitake doubted she had anyone she could talk about this with. Or at least anyone she thought she could talk to. "What's wrong? I would've thought you'd be happy."

"I'm fine, really. It's just...I don't know, I'm probably still in shock about it. That's all."

"You're nervous." Rukia paused before nodding slightly. She shouldn't be surprised that her Captain of several decades knew her so well. "Well, if I were you, I would talk to him about whatever it is that's bothering you."

"Really?"

Ukitake smiled. "Really. Communication is key when it comes to relationships."

Rukia paused for a moment, considering what her Captain had said. She nodded, a slight smile on her face. "Thanks Captain."

Ukitake gave her a warm smile. "I'm always here for you Rukia."

XxXxXxX

"So how does this whole matchmaking thing work exactly?"

Rukia sighed as she put her book down on her bedside table. "I need to finish all of the initial match meetings first, then I pick a suitor I want to continue with."

"So when do you finish these initial meetings?"

"A week or two."

Ichigo huffed. "That long?"

"Well I have to work, so it takes longer. What exactly are you spending your time doing at the minute anyway?"

"Running away from Kenpachi mainly."

Rukia smiled. "It's a good thing he hasn't got much of a sense of direction."

"You're telling me."

The two of them ended up falling into silence, so Rukia picked up her book again, only to get interrupted a couple of minutes later. "What's wrong Rukia?"

"What do you mean?"

"You're quiet. More than usual anyway."

"I'm..." Rukia paused, looking up at Ichigo, remembering what Ukitake had said. "Nervous."

Ichigo couldn't stop his scowl from deepening. "About?"

"Everything. What if something goes wrong?"

"Like what?"

"Like what if you feel differently about me in the future?"

"Rukia I've put up with you abusing me for years and I still wanna stick around, what does that tell you?"

"That you're a masochist. And that you get a lot of things wrong that I have to hit you for."

Ichigo glared at her. "You don't _have_ to hit me you know. But that wasn't really the answer I was looking for. Come on you know what I mean right?"

Rukia nodded. "Yeah. But still, a couple of years isn't that long."

Ichigo shrugged. "Plenty of humans get married after a couple of years and it works out fine. From what I've heard plenty of nobles get married after a couple of years and they work fine too."

"On the surface anyway."

"Well, true, but we've always been a good team. I know this is worrying you, but you need to stop. I said the other day that it wouldn't get us anywhere, not at the minute. No one's forcing you to marry me specifically, so if we don't work it's not like we'll end up trapped together. Just see what happens for now, yeah?"

Rukia sighed and nodded. She knew that he was probably right, for once. It was a little more difficult than just deciding to stop worrying, which she couldn't do anyway, but it helped that Ichigo clearly wasn't nervous. It reminded her that there was no guarantee that this _was_ going to fall apart, and that the two of them could work. Rukia was terrible for focusing on the potential problems rather than the potential benefits which meant she tended to look at things pessimistically.

"Out of interest, can I actually see you outside of your bedroom, or what?"

Rukia smiled. "Probably not the best idea. This whole thing is supposed to be done properly and traditionally. I'm not supposed to see any potential suitors outside of meetings. So it's probably not a good idea to be seen together outside of here."

"That seems ridiculous. Surely everyone knows that we're friends?"

"You'd be surprised how sheltered some nobles can be. And they could accuse my family of trying to cover something up if we don't do it properly. It's not worth risking. Just give it a week or two after I finish all of the initial meetings, and then no one would see it as weird or scandalous."

Ichigo spoke with a cheeky smile on his face."So you're definitely picking me then?"

"As if you're even asking me that."

"Oh I dunno, for all you know you could meet your soul mate next week in a match meeting."

Rukia shook her head. "Nope."

He smirked. "You suddenly seem sure."

Rukia paused, trying to figure out what to say. "I...At this point in time, I can't say for sure that _you_ are my soul mate. But you are definitely more likely than some pretty faced noble who doesn't understand the meaning of the words 'hard work'."

Ichigo pointed a finger at Rukia and spoke in a fake offended tone. "Are you saying I'm not pretty?"

Rukia burst out into laughter, making Ichigo smile.

* * *

**This chapter probably isn't the most exciting one, it's more of a build up to the things to come. The next chapter will probably end up being similar, it's the one after that'll have more substance. I've got plot points planned, but they'll take a while to build up to, so bear with me. Still trying to figure out how to write the characters really. I think I wrote Rukia better, but I still need to work on Ichigo. It'll get there eventually. I hope you liked this chapter, and please let me know if you think I should rewrite the last chapter. And thanks again for all the reviews, faves, follows and views!**


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